Of corsets and tiaras
by deejaymcknight
Summary: Snow finally gets to do something she had waited all her life to do. Get her daughter ready for her first ball. Never said it would be an easy task.


I don't know where this came from, but I had the urge to write it. enjoy!

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Emma glanced at the calender on the wall of her bedroom just to make sure she hadn't slept through the months and it wasn't October. After all sleeping curses were her family's specialty. But no, it was a random Saturday (her only day off thank you very much) in January and here she was, staring at a corset on her bed.

"Now remind me again how you talked me into this..." The blonde nearly whined, facing her friend-no roommate-no mother. Christ that was going to take some getting use to, no matter how long the curse had been broken. Snow (as she'd slowly come around to calling the brunette) looked the same age as her, younger even; being older than her mother wasn't something she'd even bother to get into though. A girl can only so much crazy before she cracks and Emma had her fill for the year...or the decade. Whichever.

"I believe it was the curse guilt trip again. And before you say it, I know. It's not going to work forever. Just had to work this time." Snow threw a smirk in the direction of her daughter with a nod towards the set up she had laid out for the girl beside her. "I never got to dress you for your first ball, just indulge your mother this one time." The pout had the savior growling just slightly.

Rolling her eyes, Emma shook her head pointing at the woman. "You said that about the horse thing too! And after I fell I had bruises for a month. Eventually I'm drawing the line you're aware of that right?" She knew that was probably a blatant lie but still, it felt good to stand her completely fabricated ground.

Snow smirked, shaking her head for a moment. "Just think of how much fun Henry is having with your father, getting fitted for his own royal garb." This earned her a pair of narrowed eyes.

"Let it be known that Snow White, fairest of them all, plays dirty." A pointed finger was thrust in the direction of the woman in question, who merely laughed and held up the corset with a bit of a wiggle. "Now turn around and pay attention. You'll be helping me when we're done here." Poking her daughter in the side a few times she waited for her to turn.

Brows shot up in surprise at this before Emma spoke up "Whoa now. You said nothing about that. I figured you were a pro at this stuff."

"I am, but that doesn't mean I can do it singlehandedly. Red usually helped, Ella too on some occasions. It's not a one person job, Emma." Snow rolled her eyes as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Watching the blonde huff and eventually turn around, she basked in her miniature victory.

Reaching around her daughter's frame, she slipped the corset into place, biting her tongue to hold back the laughter whenever she squeaked as it was pulled tight. Women in this realm knew nothing of the phrase 'beauty is pain'. The quiet between them gave Snow time to reflect on the situation. She was helping her _daughter_ get ready for her first ball. Granted it was about twenty years later than she thought it would be, it was still happening. The continuous motion of tying and lacing allowed her to get lost in it. When she said goodbye to Emma, she had as much faith as she could that the little girl ripped from her arms would save them; but that was a lot to get anyone to believe, much less a new mother having her world ripped from beneath her.

She _did _come back though, she saved them as the caged Dark One had predicted. She came back, broke the curse and gave an entire kingdom back their lives. For that Snow would be eternally in debt to her daughter, along with the whole sending her through the wardrobe thing. She didn't want to dwell on that too much though, ever since the curse broke it plagued her thoughts.

_'Which curse is worse?' _The words played constantly in her mind and although Emma had seen what they'd given up after seeing the nursery, those words still got to her. What if they had been selfish and kept the newborn with them? Would the curse somehow break another way or would they have been stuck together for twenty eight years, never knowing their family were the people they passed day after day like everyone else? What if Snow had held on, gotten in the wardrobe before she went into labor? Sure, she wouldn't be able to bring her child up in the lifestyle she'd expected to...but she would have still been there with her. To see her grow up into the woman she was today.

"Cutting off my airway back there, is everything alright?" Emma's voice broke through the fog she'd been under. Shaking her head back and forth a few times, Snow patted the blonde's sides a few times.

Reaching for the dress laid out on the bed, the brunette smiled fondly. Hand stitched, pale blue and slightly shimmering. Much like her own first gown had been. "Everything is fine. Let's get you in your dress and then we'll discuss what we'll be doing with that mop of yours." Watching the blonde begin to formulate a response, she simply held up her hand; a gesture that silenced the other woman with it's sheer regal air. "If you suggest leaving it down or just throwing it in a ponytail...Emma so help me gods..."

As if her mouth hadn't been sealed enough, Emma pulled her lips tighter together and took a seat once her dress was situated. Thankfully, the updo was a simple one and paired with the rest of the ensemble, she actually liked it. The jewelry she could do without but after talking Snow out of the tiara that morning, she wasn't going to push it.

With the process quickly repeated on her mother, the two were soon done, final additions being added in front of mirrors in their bedrooms. Emma wasn't sure what she was supposed to look like. She'd barely ever been to a school dance, much less a ball (even if said ball was being thrown in a school gym. They had to improvise, she gave the townspeople credit.) "Here goes nothin'" she breathed, stepping out to see her mother standing just across the space of the apartment.

Gone was the quiet school teacher she'd come to know, replaced with a ruler. Beautiful, confident, bravery for days. This was Snow White, not the one that Disney threw together to seem like some damsel in distress. This was a hero, one Emma had seen in action. One she looked up to. Suddenly, her hands felt clammy, stretched out across the waist of her dress as she glanced over towards Snow. "Well?"

Snow White was never one to be at a loss of words, no matter the situation. Right now however, that seemed to be the exact case. Taking in the sight of her daughter, fully grown with a life (and a child!) of her own, was too much to comprehend. When the silence fell between them and she realized just how nervous Emma was, she wracked her brain, smiling a wide and watery smile as the words came to her.

"You look like a princess."

Though the words came out shaky, the blush the crept up on her daughter's cheeks caused Snow to laugh, crossing the distance with a wink. "Still say it could use a tiara, though." She grinned, knowing that if the emotions ran too high, things would get uncomfortable quick.

"No tiara! Let's go before I change my mind." Emma huffed, trudging towards the door followed quickly by a laughing brunette.


End file.
